The father of a teenager who took her own life after being subjected to
bullying by internet trolls has asked “how many more teenagers will kill
themselves” before action is taken.

David Smith has demanded that action be taken against online trolls in the same way that action is taken against bullies in the school or the workplace.

His 14-year-old daughter Hannah was found dead after she received a series of abusive messages on the Ask.fm website, telling her to “drink bleach”, “go get cancer” and “go die”.

He said that those hiding behind a computer screen thinking that their actions will have no consequences have to realise they are affecting people’s lives in the “most horrific ways”.

“How many more teenagers will kill themselves because of online abuse before something is done? These sick people are just able to go online and hide behind a mask of anonymity while they abuse vulnerable teenagers,” he told the Daily Mirror.

“We’ve lost Hannah in the most horrendous way imaginable. It’s time something was done so that no other family has to go through this,”